Important project of Italian PRT for Guzara District opened

HERAT, Afghanistan (Apr. 17) - Members of the Herat Provincial Reconstruction Team and local authorities opened a new facility in the Guzara District, just south of Herat, today

The new refrigerated storage facility will benefit residents who otherwise would have nowhere to store their fresh fruits and vegetables. The harvests are a primary source of income for locals who use the fruits and vegetables to trade and maintain thier livelihood.

The new facility covers about 300 sq. meters. The Italian Ministry of Defense provided more than 180,000 euros for the facility. A local construction company completed the project in a little more than four months. The completed facility will help preserve crops that, until now, had to be marketed or consumed in a very short time because they were subject to decay.

The PRT will also conduct specific training courses for local technicians to ensure they are able to maintain the storage facility.

Guzara District Governor Sharify Ziayudeen and Asiludim Jami, Herat’s vice governor, were on hand with Brig. Gen. Alessandro Veltri, Regional Command West commander, at the inauguration of the new facility. In addition, the PRT commander, Col. Emmanuele Aresu, and numerous other local authorities attended the ceremony.

Both the Jami and Ziayudeen expressed their appreciation to the members of the PRT and to the workers who completed the facility. They said the project demonstrated the depth with which the Provincial Reconstruction Team, and the Italian people in general, support the rebuilding of Herat province through the fulfilment of the real and concrete development needs of the territory and its people.

Veltri said he was proud for his teams to be part of a project designed to support the province's agri-food production and measurable improvement of general living conditions of the inhabitants of Guzara district.

“Any form of support continues to be guaranteed by the Regional Command West of ISAF in full respect of traditions, customs and traditions ,” he said.